Nigeria will be able to lift its own crude oil for export immediately the national fleets come into operation, according to the Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside.
Dakuku, while speaking at a media breakfast meeting on the sideline of the ongoing Nor-Shipping Conference and Exhibition in Oslo, Norway, explained that such an outcome will end the capital flight associated with the present arrangement where Nigeria sells its oil on board basis to customers and will also lead to employment creation.
He said the new national fleet will be owned 49 per cent by a technical partner and the balance of 51 per cent by Nigerian investors. According to the plan, the Nigerian investors will hold equity in lots, so there will be no domineering shareholder. He said the planned national fleet will be private sector led for sustainability and profitability.
The national fleet is part of the country’s new strategic direction on the blue economy, which is designed to tap its maritime potentials. He invited local and foreign investors who are interested in the project to partner with the country.
The opportunity in crude freight and right of first refusal to lift cargo generated by all tiers of government are just some of the many potentials in the sector. He said the country is also taking its maritime security seriously and has invested in the acquisition of security assets to boost the policing of its waters.
These assets include patrol boats, special mission aircraft, helicopters, unmanned air vessels and special mission ships. He noted that the assets, acquired under the ‘Deep Blue Project’, which he calls a homeland security solution, will be operational by September this year with a standing specially trained intervention strike force.
Dr Dakuku Peterside called on investors to tap into the rich potentials of the maritime sector in Nigeria saying the government has incentivised the sector with offers of tax holidays and institutional support.
Nigeria, he reminded his audience is an investment-friendly environment with comprehensive maritime security, a robust financial sector and six port complexes and numerous terminals. The country accounts for 70 per cent of seaborne trade into the west and central Africa and is endowed with a skilled workforce and the world’s ninth largest hydrocarbon deposits. The country is also focusing on implementing reforms to enhance her ease of doing business he concluded.
